Meet the team: Investment Manager Divya Murthy

Divya Murthy is the Senior Investment Manager at the ProVeg Incubator. She was born in Bangalore, India but grew up in Mumbai. Divya moved to Berlin in 2018 and has been working at the ProVeg Incubator since July 2020.

Divya, what do you do at the ProVeg Incubator?

As the Senior Investment Manager, I am in charge of evaluating companies to facilitate ProVeg’s investments in the plant-based and cultured food sector. I also help with assessing startups that have applied to our programme.

Once the programme begins, I work closely with the founders to help understand their needs, focus their strategy, and to support them. Apart from these focus areas, I have also been collaborating with the team to design and implement processes that would help us in our evaluations.

How did you land this position?

After completing my Masters in Business Administration, I worked across roles in mergers and acquisitions, corporate credit rating, and risk advisory. Having worked only in the finance and consulting space all my life, I was looking for a change – something that would help me make a difference.

Around this time, I was educating myself on climate change and animal welfare. Finally, in 2019, I made the decision to move to a plant-based lifestyle.

I started attending events on the topic and at one such event, I met Albrecht, the Head of ProVeg Incubator, and we stayed in touch. A few months later, I found out that this position as a Startup Analyst had opened up and I had to give it a shot!

What do you enjoy most about your job?

It is safe to say that my work is a huge source of hope and inspiration. This is especially true since I joined the Incubator during the pandemic.

It is great to meet and interact with so many passionate people who are working towards building a better future. I also really enjoy interacting with founders, brainstorming strategies, and supporting them so that we can build a stronger ecosystem, together.

What are the challenges of your job?

The biggest challenge is definitely not being able to help everyone we want to. That would be nearly impossible. We meet so many passionate and hard-working founders that it is truly difficult to choose who we can support and who we can’t.

What are the values that drive you?

Respect for all beings, empathy, and fairness.

Divya, tell us three interesting facts about yourself

  1. I am a trained Indian classical singer and I was part of my college band.
  2. Playing board games is something I LOVE. I recently discovered Catan and I am absolutely hooked.
  3. I would do anything to get GOOD Indian food in Berlin. This includes travelling long-distances, sometimes to a different city, and in really extreme situations – cooking it myself.

What are your top three podcast/book/documentary recommendations?

  1. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari – My late grandfather gifted me this book and it brought so much clarity in my perspectives on many things from religion to capitalism.
  2. David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet – A beautifully shot documentary that is imploring, heart-wrenching, and inspiring at the same time.
  3. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah – I enjoyed his audiobook and I love his perspectives on a lot of topics. Disclaimer: I am a huge fan, so I may be biased.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I enjoy cycling and hiking whenever the sun is out. I like hanging out with friends and playing games. Recently have started painting, which is almost meditative.

If your flat was on fire and you could only save one item what would it be? (assume family and pets are safe)

All the devices I have with photographs on them.

If you enjoyed this blog post, check out our previous meet the team posts with Tim, Albrecht, and Antje.

You might also like: